CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers All-Star forward Kevin Love is back in Cleveland's starting lineup against New Orleans after missing one game with a concussion.Love, who recently returned from a broken left hand, sat out Wednesday's game at Charlotte. He had sustained a concussion the previous night in Miami after he was accidentally hit in the face while defending Heat center Jordan Mickey in the foul lane. Love played just seven minutes and the Cavs were blown out.Love also had a tooth damaged in the collision.Cleveland has been a different team since Love returned to the lineup. It won the first four games after he came back and his outside shooting ability has allowed the Cavs, who have been besieged by injuries all season, to spread the floor.Love is averaging 17.7 points and 9.2 rebounds. He has become the team's second scoring option — after LeBron James — this season following Kyrie Irving's trade to Boston.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love has entered the NBA's concussion protocol after being elbowed in the face.Love was struck by Miami's Jordan Mickey during Tuesday night's 98-79 loss to the Heat. He briefly returned to the floor, but experienced concussion-like symptoms at halftime. The Cavs said the All-Star will miss their game at Charlotte and his status will be updated when appropriate."He took a pretty good shot," Cavaliers associate head coach Larry Drew said Wednesday night. "And as is mentioned yesterday, we went in at halftime and the decision was made not to bring him back. You know it's unfortunate, we're just getting him back and then this happened. We just want to make sure that he's OK before we put him back out on the floor. It's unfortunate."Tristan Thompson was set to start against the Hornets.When asked if Love will require dental work, Drew replied: "I really don't know to be perfectly honest. I was told that one of his teeth was kind of pushed... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Cavaliers All-Star forward Kevin Love is in the NBA's concussion protocol after being elbowed in the face.Love was struck by Miami's Jordan Mickey early in Tuesday's game at Miami. He briefly returned to the floor, but experienced concussion-like symptoms at halftime. The Cavs said he will miss Wednesday's game against the Charlotte Hornets and his status will be updated when appropriate.Love, who also missed a game in the 2016 Finals with a concussion, damaged a front tooth in the collision with Mickey. Love only recently returned after missing 21 games with a broken left hand.Cleveland's lineup has been in constant flux this season because of injuries. The Cavs are running out of time to get themselves healthy and in a rhythm before the playoffs begin on April 15. They have eight games left in the regular season.Love is averaging 17.7 points and 9.2 rebounds in his fourth season with Cleveland.

The Miami Heat signed former Boston Celtics forward Jordan Mickey on Sunday.Terms were not disclosed, but the deal is worth the $1.5 million guaranteed veteran minimum, according to the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel.Mickey, 23, split last season between the Celtics and the Maine Red Claws of the NBA G League. He appeared in 12 games (all starts) with the Red Claws, averaging 20.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.75 blocks, 1.6 assists and 32.6 minutes while shooting 51.5 percent from the field, 43.8 percent from 3-point range and 75.6 percent from the foul line.Mickey appeared in 25 games (one start) with the Celtics last season and averaged 1.5 points and 1.4 rebounds in 5.6 minutes of action while shooting 44.1 percent from the field.The 6-foot-8, 238-pound Mickey, a former second-round pick (33rd overall) of the 2015 NBA Draft out of LSU, also appeared in four postseason games with the Celtics over the last two seasons, including two games in the Eastern Conference finals last season where he totaled four points, five rebounds and a block in 18 minutes.Mickey averaged a nation's best 3.64 blocks in his final season at LSU, blocking at least 100 shots in consecutive seasons to become just the second player in school history to reject at least 100 shots during a single season, joining Shaquille O'Neal.